The Painting Experience Blog
Acceptance, Recovery and Process Painting
And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, It is because I find some person, place, thing, situation -- Some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, And I can find no serenity until I accept That person, place, thing, or situation As being exactly the way it [...]
Following the Thread
The Way It Is There is a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread. But it is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can’t get lost. Tragedies happen; people get hurt or [...]
How to Make a Cardboard Tripod Easel
Many painters and teachers ask us about the construction of The Painting Experience's cardboard tripod easels. These big, sturdy tripods have many advantages: They're easy to set up; they collapse for easy storage; and when their lives are over, they can be recycled. We have cardboard stored all over the country -- thanks to the [...]
Working From the Body: Feeling and Painting
One of the ways our facilitators support painters at The Painting Experience is to direct them toward what they are feeling, or sensing, to access the body’s intelligence and to help bypass the thinking mind. We will ask questions that help you notice what you are feeling while you are painting -- and the body [...]
Jung and Imagination
"Our fate restricts us so that our destiny can find us . . .” ~ Michael Meade, Fate and Destiny, The Two Agreements of the Soul One of the insights that comes from process painting is the inevitability of what we perceive as our limitations. Behind every brushstroke lurks the insistent voice that we are lacking [...]
Process and Presence
To express spontaneously -- that is, without a goal -- is to practice presence, bringing our full selves to the painting with curiosity and interest. Artists are often considered to be the delicate barometers of civilization, sensing the deeper pulse of tides less visible to the unaccustomed eye. They can also be chroniclers of a [...]
At Ease: Reflections on Moloka’i
I’ve just returned from my annual retreat at Hui Ho’olana Retreat Center on the Island of Moloka’i. The ten days we spend painting at the Hui mark my longest painting retreat each year, and they always yield fresh insights and new realizations. This year, one of the recurring themes was safety. As we settled into [...]
For Therapists: Letting Creativity Support Your Work
In a recent post, we linked to several articles offering scientific evidence for the benefits of creative practice. As therapists, we may fall into the trap of saying, “That’s nice, but when will I fit that into my schedule?” Prior to her research on wholeheartedness, Brene Brown, PhD, LMSW had this to say about creativity: [...]
Feeling Free
Letting Creativity Support Your Well-Being
As individuals, we who are affiliated with The Painting Experience are among millions of concerned people who actively support basic freedoms and rights—for immigrants, for women, for the environment, for anyone who lacks access to the fundamental resources they need. As an organization, The Painting Experience fosters these intentions by making a home for the [...]